It's authentic polynesian. In Samoa they sleep with a piece of bamboo for a pillow! Well, they used to anyway.

AUTHENTIC!?!? Curses, that takes all the fun out of Poly Pop!! _________________I'm the most thirstiesterest of all!
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I'm not sure about hotel decor in Hawaii, but I know that all of the condos my parents have owned on the Big Island are artfully and tastefully decorated much in the style as you see in the postcards - bamboo and rattan everything, tropical prints, cool details (although no tikis so far). My mother, inspired in part by my style of interior decorating, has even gone so far as to pick a different tropical "theme" for each of the condos: palm trees, orchids, birds, etc. She also likes to collect local artist's paintings of the area, which is a nice touch I think.

when you rent a vacation rental, it's kind of guessy how it's going to be decorated, as it depends on the individual owner (and you certainly are risking quality furnishings if rented to a disrespectful person who steals or thrashes them); but most units have extensive pictures online of the furnishings so if you are looking for that kind of decor (it would be new and retro at most, but most unlikely not vintage), you can find it.

I recently watched Elvis' "Blue Hawaii" and wondered aloud why the hotels aren't as cool as they used to be. I wonder if the Coco Palms had survived if would've stayed traditional or renovated? I wish I could stay in a place like that. My Aunt has a condo in Maui and it has a 80's Miami Vice kind of vibe. Lots of chrome and mirrors. Thanks for sharing those postcards. Too bad you can't complie them in a book!

Weiser, a South Carolina developer who lives part-time in Princeville, wants to spend $200 million to rebuild the Coco Palms to look the way it did at the peak of its popularity.

"It won't be absolutely the same. The rooms will be larger than they were in the 1950s," Weiser said in an interview. "But the buildings will look the same, the lobby will be the same, everything will look as much as possible like the original."

I *swear* that with their beautiful view out the window, alnshelly's bedroom could fit right in with these photos! Post one, you two, for comparison's sake? I so envy that room!! (Shelley can pose in a vintage dress, looking absentmindedly out the window, with a vague but pleasant look on her face, a al hotel postcards)

A few years ago we stayed at the Breakers hotel in Waikiki, it had this cool James bond vibe going on. The rooms sliding glass door opened to this cool Japanese tea house, the kitchenette was hiding behind a soji screen. The room had nelson bubble lamps. It was really something. I wish I had a picture.

On 2005-02-28 18:19, Alnshely wrote:Shelley can pose in a vintage dress, looking absentmindedly out the window, with a vague but pleasant look on her face, a al hotel postcards)

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My gosh--I think I can see Diamond Head in the background!!! (or maybe it is a spot on my glasses?)
_________________I'm the most thirstiesterest of all!
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On 2005-02-28 18:19, Alnshely wrote:A few years ago we stayed at the Breakers hotel in Waikiki, it had this cool James bond vibe going on. The rooms sliding glass door opened to this cool Japanese tea house, the kitchenette was hiding behind a soji screen. The room had nelson bubble lamps. It was really something. I wish I had a picture.

I stayed at the Breakers once as well. I loved their staff and grounds, but our room was a little musty smelling (I guess that's fairly common in a tropical climate) and after we saw the tikis on the grounds of the Hawaiiana hotel down the street we switched to that hotel. But I would still recommend the Breakers for the old-style atmosphere and staff. And I love their beachbum logo, which used to be on the sign on the front of the hotel.

This hotel, along with the Hawaiiana Hotel in Waikiki, and Uncle Billy's Hilo Bay hotel in Hilo, are probably the last of the small older hotels in Hawaii with some original decor left.

I Think Stuff-o-rama is right! These post cards would make one heck of a cool coffee table type book. I could look at these pictures all day! I always have such a bitter sweet feeling each time I look at the by gone days.

Puamana - Thanks so much for posting those. I didn't realized we had another collector on the board!

I can see I've got a lot more collecting to do. I've never seen most of those. I especially like the tiki and fish cutouts on the balcony of the Napili Kai, the furniture in the Niumalu, and the fish wall art in the Kona Inn. The Breakers room is breathtaking as well. Thanks again. Maybe we should work on a book together.

On 2005-03-01 11:30, exotica59 wrote:I Think Stuff-o-rama is right! These post cards would make one heck of a cool coffee table type book.

Some of these can be found in Charles Phoenix's and Fred Basten's "LEIS, LUAUS AND ALOHA" -The Lure of Hawaii in the Fifties", a nice coffe table book full of vintage brochure, postcard and other tourist imagery.

A good example of how important DISTRIBUTION is in publishing, this book, like most titles published in Hawaii, has not been noticed here much. It's published by Island Heritage publishing.

The Kona Inn was always one of my fave too, not just because of the Fish wallhanging and the Ku lamp bases, but because of the modernist quadruple Tiki face painting. There are other postcards with cool modern Tiki art in the rooms...to think that all those got tossed upon renovation, ...sigh.

Kitty and I are going to spend a few days in Honolulu next month. I am intrigued by Alnshely's and Jab's remarks about the Breakers and The Hawaiiana. Are there any room types you (or anyone else) would recommend? The Alii rooms at the Hawaiiana look very nice with the private balconies but they seem a bit spendy. The garden view rooms seem nice. Just how musty was it at the Breakers? A friend of mine recommended it but didn't recall a musty problem although it has been a while since he stayed there. Any info would be appreciated.

Also thanks to Sabu and the rest of you for sharing these fabulous pictures.